Creative and cultural industries are now widely acknowledged as dynamic sectors of the world economy offering high growth opportunities. Based on the premise that culture can be a driver of economic growth, governments in Asia and Europe, in consultation with the arts sector and international institutions, are directing investment towards these sectors and developing tailor-made national and local policies. Further, there are growing debates around the development dimension of the creative economy.

These ongoing discussions call for a deeper analysis of existing policies shaping the creative economy and their particular potential for innovatively addressing development challenges.

In this context, ASEF co-organised the 6th ASEF Experts’ Meeting & Public Forum on Creative Economy in Asia and Europe: Emerging Pillar of Economic Growth & Development, which addressed these very issues and encouraged the sharing of experiences and good practices from both regions.

The meeting was organised in partnership with the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Viet Nam; and, with the support of the British Council, Viet Nam and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Netherlands.

Meeting report

The report of this meeting is now available for download in the Documents section of this page.

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Project Updates

Creative and cultural industries are now widely acknowledged as dynamic sectors of the Asian and European economies offering high growth opportunities. The topic is also high on the cultural agenda of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). However, debates continue on the increasing tension between markets and culture as well as the role of culture in development. These ongoing discussions call for deeper analysis of existing policies and approaches related to the creative economy in both regions. In this context, ASEF is promoting dialogue and knowledge-sharing through the ASEF Cultural Policy Dialogue Series.

An ASEF Experts’ Meeting and Public Forum on Creative Economy in Asia and Europe: Emerging Pillar of Economic Growth & Development on 4-5 December 2013 in Hanoi, Vietnam brought together 30 civil experts and government officials from 20 Asian and European countries for one and a half days of deliberation. The national creative industries’ strategy of Vietnam was also launched on this occasion, in the presence of Vietnam’s Deputy Minister for Culture, Sports and Tourism, HO Anh Tuan. The ASEF Experts’ Meeting and Public Forum was organised in partnership with the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vietnam and with the support of the British Council, Vietnam and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Netherlands.

A second ASEF Experts’ Meeting and Public Forum on Creative Economy in Asia and Europe will be organised in the Netherlands in 2014 to channel ideas and recommendations to the 6th ASEM Culture Ministers’ Meeting in October 2014 in the Netherlands. A mapping of good practices will also be undertaken by ASEF.

The ASEF Experts’ Meeting and Public Forum on ‘Creative Economy in Asia and Europe: Emerging Pillar of Economic Growth & Development’ will take place on 4-5 December 2013 in Hanoi, VietNam. The meeting will address current debates surrounding the growth of the creative and cultural industries, which are widely acknowledged as dynamic sectors of Asian and European economies offering high growth opportunities.

This meeting is organised as part of the ‘ASEF Cultural Policy Dialogue Series’and complements ASEF’s support to the WorldCP-International Database of Cultural Policies. The International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, VietNam are partners for the ‘WorldCP’initiative as well as the upcoming ASEF Experts’ Meeting and Public Forum. The meeting is also supported by the British Council.

Creative industries was identified as an important area of mutual interest and common relevance for Asia-Europe dialogue at the Experts’ Meeting on Cultural Policy (October 2011, Australia) organised in the framework of ‘WorldCP-Asia’. This topic is also high on the political agenda of Ministers of Culture in Asia and Europe, who meet biennially in the framework of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). The 6th ASEM Culture Ministers’ Meeting (2014, The Netherlands) will specifically focus on the topic of creative industries.

The cultural policy profiles of India, South Korea and Vietnam, commissioned through the ‘WorldCP’initiative, will be launched in Hanoi.